“I Took Charge of My Life”

P90X literally saved Mellissa A.’s life. She was unhealthy and very unhappy in her life during her school years. She was outcast by the other kids because of her size, and turned to food for comfort. She began home schooling in high school, and had constant access to food. By the end of high school, she was barely 5 ft. tall, weighed 210 lbs and wore a size 20 jeans. She was so depressed, that some days she couldn’t get out of bed. Read about her struggles and her victories on the path to losing 81 lbs with P90X in her own words, below.

I first heard about P90X when I was at my lowest point in life. I was in such a dark place, depressed and questioning life and then I heard about this 90 day workout program. I felt this spark that I had never felt before. After doing some research, I knew right away that this was going to save my life. I was ready to take on this huge change and challenge in my life. It was basically do or die for me because if I hadn’t decided to change my life I wouldn’t have made it into my 20’s.

My biggest challenge before I started P90X was my lack of motivation to do anything. Some days I felt so awful that I couldn’t even get out of bed. I was severely depressed and never felt so awful and embarrassed. I even felt like I was an embarrassment to my own family. I would find any excuse possible to avoid leaving my house and going out in public, so being home schooled was the best excuse. As I started noticing results from the workouts, I was able to slowly make better food choices and drink more water because I was determined to get the best results possible. I was highly motivated once I started to notice a different in the way I felt, seeing changes in my body and how my clothes fit differently.. eventually my ‘fat’ clothes didn’t fit anymore!

I chose P90X because I wanted to really challenge myself. I wanted to feel alive again for the first time in years. I was inspired by all the people who stuck with it and because of their determination and motivation, they got the results that they wanted! I knew it would be the most challenging thing that I had done in my life but I knew I could do it. At first I could barely manage to get through an entire workout video. I would have to pause it, sit down to catch my breath, and ask myself if I really wanted this. The answer was always YES, so I got up, pressed play again and did the best that I could being over 210 lbs. Eventually it started getting easier each day and before I knew it I was able to finish an entire workout!

I loved that P90X was a challenge and completely out of my comfort zone. Everything was new to me, especially using weights. Being able to follow along with Tony and the other cast members, seeing their determination and great form was very motivating and inspiring. When I first started P90X I could barely make it through the warm up!! I would have to pause it to be able to catch my breath but I knew if I just ‘pressed play’ everyday that it would get easier. Being shown how to modify the moves that I had trouble with at first helped me get through the first couple of weeks until I got stronger.

My life has changed drastically since I started P90X. I started at over 210lbs and barely 5 ft. tall. I would look in the mirror everyday in disgust, I hated every single part of my body. I have lost 81 lbs so far. Not only did I lose weight, but at the same time I gained muscle definition, motivation, confidence, mental clarity and self love. For the first time in my entire life I can finally say that I am truly happy. I took charge of my life and was able to overcome every obstacle that I was dealing with like severe depression and anxiety. For the first time in my life I know that I can achieve anything I set my mind to. I can’t even begin to thank Tony Horton and Beachbody enough for saving my life.